ORANGEBURG, N.Y., February 15, 2011 – Chromalloy announced today that it has crossed the one-year milestone as a member of the Northrop Grumman team on the KC-10 Extender Logistics Support program, overhauling 48 CF6-50C2 aircraft engines in the initial program year while meeting turnaround time requirements and improving engine performance.
The contract provides support for the U.S. Air Force KC-10 refueling fleet of 59 aircraft. Under the $540 million, six-year contract with up to three incentive years that commenced in 2010, Chromalloy, with team member MTU Maintenance, is overhauling and repairing a fleet of 204 engines and an additional 77 auxiliary power units that provide energy for secondary electrical systems.
“Chromalloy is servicing the CF6 engine fleet and replacing worn parts using proprietary Designated Engineering Representative repairs and Parts Manufacturer Approval components,” said Armand F. Lauzon, Jr., President. “Our FAA-certified DER repairs and PMA components have flown successfully for years in commercial airliners and now are delivering the same savings and performance improvement to the KC-10 fleet.
“When compared with the previous contract we are pleased that the U.S. Air Force is saving more than $1 million per engine shop visit,” Lauzon added.
The Air Force service contract represents a first within the Department of Defense because it is the first major program to provide blanket approval for the use of FAA-approved alternative – or non-OEM – parts and repairs.
Use of FAA-approved parts and repairs developed for the commercial CF6-50 engine that has been in service for more than 40 years allows Chromalloy and MTU to deliver cost and engine performance benefits with every overhauled engine.
Approximately $500,000 of savings per engine is attributable to the use of alternative parts and repairs.
In addition, each of the 48 engines was delivered with Exhaust Gas Temperature margins above the U.S. Air Force threshold requirement, allowing the engines to run longer on wing and increasing the mean time between removal. “The team believes this engine performance will translate to greater savings from significantly increased time on-wing,” Lauzon said.
With 52 sales, repair and manufacturing locations in 17 countries, Chromalloy is the world’s largest independent supplier of technologically advanced repairs, coatings, and FAA-approved replacement parts for turbine airfoils and other critical engine components for commercial airlines, the military and industrial turbine engine applications.
The company’s engineered components and blades are subject to the same FAA requirements and scrutiny as OEM-produced equipment.
Chromalloy’s replacement parts for aircraft engines are FAA certified to meet or exceed the performance, reliability and durability specifications of original equipment manufacturer parts. In support of marine and land-based gas turbines, the company employs identical engineering disciplines used to produce its FAA-certified parts.
The company’s continued investment in research and development of coatings and repair and manufacturing technology has led to the development of electron beam physical vapor deposition with ceramic materials, vacuum plasma, diffused precious metal / aluminide coatings, and vision-guided interactive laser welding and drilling for most advanced turbine engine components, as well as many other advanced technologies. More information is at www.chromalloy.com.
